Lone Jury Holdout in Blagojevich Case Wanted ‘Smoking Gun’

Erik Sarnello of Itasca, Ill, a juror in the corruption trial of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, talks to reporters inside his home in Itasca on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Lois Bernstein)

Journalists from two big Chicago newspapers, the Tribune and the Sun-Times, performed some old-fashioned boots-to-the-ground reporting on Tuesday, following the Rod Blagojevich verdict.

To recap (click here for all LB coverage of the Blago trial): jurors found the former Illinois governor guilty on one count, making false statements to a federal agent. On the other 23 counts, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

So what happened behind the jury room’s closed doors?

The headlining news, it seems: the jury was only one vote away from convicting on what the Sun-Times calls the most “explosive” charge: that Blagojevich tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

One of the jurors, a 21 year-old college student named Erik Sarnello, said the lone holdout, a woman whom he and his fellow jurors declined to single out, felt she had not gotten the “clear-cut evidence” she needed to convict.

“Say it was a murder trial — she wanted the video,” Sarnello said to the Sun-Times. “She wanted to hear [Blagojevich] say, ‘I’ll give you this for that.’ . . . For some people, it was clear. Some people heard that. But for some, it wasn’t clear.”

But the holdout wasn’t the only one who thinks the prosecution’s case could have been stronger. The jury foreman, James Matsumoto, said that the “lack of a smoking gun was one of the major flaws.”

The money quote in the story came from Sarnello. According to the Sun-Times, Sarnello didn’t register for fall classes because he thought the jury would still be deliberating in October. So he has some time to reconsider his career. He planned a future in law enforcement but said this trial changed his mind.

“I might be a lobbyist after this,” he said. “I’ve seen all the money they make.”

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The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

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